‘Muslims No.1 in going to jail’: AIUDF leader Badruddin Ajmal stands firm on his controversial statement

The Chief of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), Badruddin Ajmal, has landed in the middle of a controversy following his recent remark that crime rates are quite high among Muslims. However, according to a report on India Today, he still stands firm on his belief and has iterated that all he was trying to do was “explain to the youth the need for education” and depict how lack of education meant a higher probability of getting involved in crime.

“I have seen the lack of education in the Muslim community worldwide. I have expressed out of grief that our children don’t study, don’t go for higher education, and can’t even complete matriculation. To explain to the youth the need for education, I have said that,” he was quoted as saying.

Implying that the low literacy rate is a determining factor in the lack of development of the Muslim community, the AIUDF leader said that the blame often falls on the government. “All the evils prevail only because of the lack of education,” he told the publication.

Badruddin further added that boys and men should not harbour "malicious intentions while looking at or interacting with girls.”

The controversial remarks were made during an alumni meet in Assam's Goalpara on October 20. "We are No.1 in crimes like robbery, dacoity, rape, loot. We are also No.1 in going to jail. Our children find no time to go to schools and colleges but find enough time to gamble, to cheat others. For all such wrong things, who's involved? It's Muslims," the leader said.

"People are now going to the moon but we (Muslims) are doing a PhD on how to go to jail. It is sad," Ajmal had said.